Up to 62% of Gaza buildings damaged or destroyed – satellite data

Hundreds of buildings including dozens of schools, hospitals and mosques have been reduced to ruin. Additionally, countless hectares of farmland has been razed or left unusable. As Israel continues its war to wipe out Hamas, the toll on Gaza’s people, infrastructure and even the land itself is irreparably scarred. Satellite images of Gaza, when compared to those taken before October 7, show the scale of the devastation wrought, with entire neighborhoods wiped off the map and the rubble and ruin laid as bare as the scorched earth.

The analysis of this data, performed by Corey Scher of the City University of New York and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University has shown that up to 62% of all buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, based on data up to January 17. Not just in Gaza City itself, which has seen the worst of the fighting, but in cities far from the front and even the surrounding countryside. Al-Zahra, for example, a wealthy neighborhood in central Gaza City, was once home to 5,000 people, three universities and several orchards and farms. Now, the universities lie ruined, apparently used by Hamas as a base, while the surrounding land is so unrecognizable that even the old roads cannot be seen anymore.

Beit Hanoun, a city once surrounded largely by farmland, now finds itself covered in armored vehicle tracks. One hospital has been destroyed, the other heavily damaged, again both accused of harboring Hamas fighters. Destroyed too are the mosques, and even the graveyards, in an attempt by Israeli forces to uncover Hamas tunnel networks.

Khan Younis, far to the south, shows similar destruction, despite initially being well away from the front lines in the north. Entire city blocks are simply missing – even the rubble has seemingly been destroyed – again the line between residential areas, infrastructure and Hamas strongholds has blurred beyond recognition.

These three areas were analyzed by Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the UN special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Martin Coward, professor of international politics at Queen Mary University of London, Ammar Azzouz, research fellow at the University of Oxford, and the Guardian.

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